DEALS, DEALS, DEALS!

LEASES

Carolina Herrera signed a 30k SF renewal and expansion at 501 Seventh Ave. CBRE’s Matthew McBride repped the tenant, while CBRE’s Lauren Smith and Gary Kamenetsky repped owner W&H Properties.

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Fidelity National Title inked a seven-year, 28k SF lease at 485 Lexington Ave. Colliers International’s Leon Manoff and Robert Kennedy repped the tenant, while David Amsterdam repped owner SL Green in-house.

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Blue Sky Plastics signed a 27k SF lease at 305 Johnson Ave, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates’ Linda Wong brokered the deal.

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Global Education New York signed a 10-year, 16k SF lease at 519 Eighth Ave. Adams & Co’s Alan Bonett and Nick Zagar repped the tenant, while The Kaufman Org’s Steven Kaufman and Barbara Raskob repped the owner.

FINANCING

Ackman-Ziff arranged $73M in debt and mezz financing for a 355-unit, 19-building portfolio in Manhattan, as well as $59M in debt financing for a 677k SF office on Long Island.

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Meridian Capital Group arranged: $21.5M for a 517-unit, five-building multifamily portfolio on Broadway (arranged by Avi Weinstock and Moshe Majeski); $10.3M for a 65-unit, six-story multifamily building on Garrett Place, Bronxville (arranged by Weinstock); $5.6M for a 66-unit, four-story multifamily building on Beech Avenue, Flushing (arranged by Morris Diamant); and $3.5M for an 11-unit, five-story multifamily building and 13-unit, five-story multifamily building, both on West 71st Street (arranged by David Ostrov).

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Walker & Dunlop provided $21M in financing for 59 Roebling St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a 54-unit, Class-A, mid-rise apartment building. The Fannie Mae refi loan was structured with a 10-year term and 30-year amortization at 76% LTV.

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GCP Capital Group arranged: $5M for a six-story, 66-unit elevator apartment building on St. Marks Avenue, Brooklyn (arranged by Paul Greenbaum); $5M for three individual garden apartment complexes totaling 90 units in Hempstead, Long Island (arranged by Matthew Albano); $4.5M for a 67k SF, 10-story shopping center on Flatlands Ave, Brooklyn (arranged by David Sessa); and $1.8M for a six-story, 39-unit elevator apartment building on Valentine Avenue, Bronx (arranged by Adam Brostovski).

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Concern for Independent Living was awarded $12.5M in low-income housing tax credits from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, which will be used to develop 60 units of housing for homeless veterans and their families at the former North Amityville Armed Forces Reserve Center on Long Island. Construction is expected to begin in August.

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Hudson Realty Capital funded a $4.7M bridge loan for a 31k SF industrial loft building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which the owner will use for acquisition financing and to fund necessary reserves.

CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Marriott International and Ian Schrager announced that they’re turning the Clock Tower at 5 Madison Ave into the New York EDITION hotel, a location it recently acquired from Africa-Israel USA for $165M. Design work is under way, and the renovation and conversion will begin late this year with a 2015 delivery.

BUSINESS

UGL Services launched its capital markets services group to provide financial analytics support and advisory services. In NY, SVP Jeff Donnelley will oversee investment sales with associate director Mark Civitillo, who’s responsible for analysis and execution.

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Marcus & Millichap opened a new office in White Plains. JD Parker will oversee this office.

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Off-Market RADAR expanded its service area to NYC, tracking every CRE transaction priced above $2M, including foreclosures, loan sales, mortgages, and deeds. Its other markets include South Florida, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay, and it plans to add the other primary metros to its coverage in the future.

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Spirit Investment Partners and The Bascom Group formed a JV,Spirit Bascom Ventures, to purchase value-add multifamily assets in the eastern region of the US, primarily Class-B and C garden-style and mid-rise apartment buildings with 150 to 500 units, as well as portfolio transactions in primary and robust secondary markets. It’s targeting 5,000 units over the next few years.

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Rouse Properties became an independent regional mall company that trades under the symbol RSE on the NYSE. The new REIT is solely focused on Class-B regional malls; its initial portfolio consists of 30 enclosed malls encompassing 21M SF in 19 states.

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Investors Jacob Frydman and Eli Verschleiser formed United Realty Partners, a firm that will focus on CRE investments and strategic advice. The firm already has 15 professionals. The duo has been responsible for over $7B in CRE transactions, including the development of Two Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, the redevelopment of the Aetna Building, and the acquisitions of NBC’s NYC studios and the Global Crossing Building.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Michael McNamara joined Brookfield Office Properties as head of US acquisitions/dispositions. He comes from TRECAP Partners and held positions at Lehman Brothers, Lend Lease, and Equitable Real Estate Investment Management. He's a St. John's grad.

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Michael Butz joined Torchlight Investors as SVP of loan origination and acquisition. He was previously with Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp and held positions at Morgan Stanley and Nomura Securities. He’s a Lehigh grad.

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Adam Ginder joined MNS as general counsel and SVP of business development. He previously practiced commercial, business, and real estate litigation with a prominent Manhattan law firm. He’s a University of Michigan and Brooklyn Law School grad.

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Kevin Stahl joined Perella Weinberg Partners as managing director in its advisory group. He was previously with RBC Capital Markets and held positions at GE Real Estate and Morgan Stanley.

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Eastern Consolidated promoted Alan Miller and David Schechtman to executive managing directors. Alan joined Eastern in ’99 and has been involved in more than $1.5B in transactions. He’s a UMASS grad. David has been with the firm for six years and has completed more than $2.4B in transactions. He’s a University of Delaware and Benjamin Cardozo School of Law grad.

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PBC USA Real Estate promoted Alicia Popper to SVP of leasing and construction. Since joining the firm in ’11, she’s been overseeing the repositioning and leasing campaign at 452 Fifth Ave. She held previous positions at Savitt Partners, Murray Hill Properties, and Newmark & Co and is a SUNY Stony Brook grad.

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The Mufson Partnership promoted Julia Belkin to partner. She joined the firm in ’98 and was previously principal. She’s an FIT grad.

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Michael Grossman, an EVP at Mack-Cali, will be leaving his position at the REIT after 25 years there and at its predecessor companies. He will stay on for a brief period to assist in the transition.